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Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

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Comments

  • Wkdwill
    Wkdwill Posts: 825 Forumite
    I did make an enquiry once without giving my details and the bloke said were not allowed to keep them but were welcome to request permission. Although after speaking to my neighbour I don't think we will be able to, she got very snobby and said oh no you can't have them we will end up with rats, so regardless what the HA says I think she would go against me, annoying considering I have to silently put up with cleaning up after her cat.
  • 3v3
    3v3 Posts: 1,444 Forumite
    rachbc - did the mealworms do the trick? Hope you are feeling more positive now (I've been away for a couple of days but my advice would have been the bath before the gin ;) Sounds like you need rest more than anything else and I think gin and chocs are stimulants not sedatives ;) )

    Wkdwill - any of your neighbours have a garden pond? If they do, you can bet your life there are rats about already (and is a good back up argument if your neighbour insists that chooks encourage rats ;) Ponds are more likely to draw rats/wildlife than chooks )
  • Gigervamp
    Gigervamp Posts: 6,583 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 5 September 2011 at 8:29PM
    Aww, Sweetpea our (bantam) Araucana laid her first egg today! You can see it here. (It's the middle one, the other two eggs are from our cream legbars) She's all grown up now!

    Oh, and here she is standing on my hand!
  • rachbc
    rachbc Posts: 4,461 Forumite
    awww teeny banty egg!

    Ginger is currently living under a garden cloch frame covered in netting! She sleeps in the shed in a box- her wound is healing well and she is taking her anti-biotics on broccoli! I did let them free range together but they went for her immediately so waiting or some antipeck spray to arrive before trying that again. Also extending their run and setting it up so we can isolate an area if needed in future to help avoid further issues - its been a steep and nasty learning curve but hopefully we'll all come out of it wiser!!
    People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Gigervamp
    Gigervamp Posts: 6,583 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Good to hear Ginger's on the mend.
  • jennyjelly
    jennyjelly Posts: 1,708 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    edited 7 September 2011 at 9:31PM
    Desparately need some help, hope there's still someone around.

    Not sure why or how it happened, but Betty, out Speckledy, has half her comb hanging off. It's still attached at the front but the back two thirds looks to have been ripped off and is flopping over her eyes.

    What do I do? I've put her in a cat carrier in the garage for now, and tomorrow I'll get some anti-peck, but other than that I'm not sure how to deal with it.

    Also the Light Sussex has the start of the same sort of injury, though it's not more than a little nick at the moment. Do I need to segregate her overnight in case the other 2 peck more, or will they only start again tomorrow?

    There are no bloody beaks so I really don't know even if it is the others. If only one was hurt I'd probably put it down to an accident, but not with two.

    They normally free range but have been in the run all day today so I'm guessing that was the reason (although the run is 8ft square for just the four of them, and there is bark to scratch and hanging corncobs, so they shouldn't be bored).

    If anybody is still on here some advice would be appreciated!
    Oh dear, here we go again.
  • jennyjelly
    jennyjelly Posts: 1,708 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    edited 7 September 2011 at 10:08PM
    Ok, so after a bit of googling it seems it's quite normal, as the 2 involved are both just coming into lay. So I've cleaned them both up with very dilute TCP and put Sudocrem on the wounds, although Louise's is hardly noticeable compared to Betty's, and they are in the garage in separate cat carriers. At first I put them side by side so they wouldn't feel lonely, but then there was a lot of squawking and when I went out they were sort of squaring up to each other through the bars, so now they are at opposite ends of the garage so at least they (and we!) can get some sleep.

    I'm hopeful that with vaseline on their combs and anti-peck they will be fine, but I don't know what to do about Betty's dangling comb - do I just leave it or does she need a vet? On some of the forums I've been looking at people seem very matter of fact and would just leave it, but I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do. Also, do combs grow back?

    Damn, I thought I was doing so well in my 2 months of chicken keeping, happy healthy girls etc, but now I feel like I know absolutely nothing about them.
    Oh dear, here we go again.
  • rachbc
    rachbc Posts: 4,461 Forumite
    Jenny I have no idea sorry but I just wanted to sympathise - after my recent traumas my confidence in looking ater my girls was complete shot. It sounds like you have done all the right things - my vet was very reluctant to stitch ginger as there isn;t enough give in the skin (plus high risk from the anaesthesia) but I have no idea if the same applies to their combs
    People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • jennyjelly
    jennyjelly Posts: 1,708 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    Thanks Rach, I read your posts about Ginger and now I know just how you felt! Glad he's on the mend.

    I think I'm going to ask at the feed store tomorrow when I go for the anti-peck, people in places like that are usually quite knowledgeable. If I can avoid the vets I will, the bills this month are horrendous - dog on antibiotics with an infection and 2 new kittens needing vaccs and spaying. I'm thinking it will be beans on toast for tea every night for a while!
    Oh dear, here we go again.
  • Gigervamp
    Gigervamp Posts: 6,583 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I've no idea either Jenny. I think I'd be tempted to put the torn bit of comb back in place and put a plaster on it. Maybe it would heal back together? Not sure how you'd get the plaster back off though without pulling out feathers!

    Hope they both heal up ok.
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